The Chicago Cubs will turn their attention to the offseason after a disappointingly early end to their playoff run. Two of their veteran position players can enter the open market this winter. Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ are among the biggest names in this year's free-agent class.
The Cubs may not launch an all-out effort to keep them both in town. According to The Athletic's Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma, the Cubs are "unlikely" to engage in a bidding war to re-sign Suzuki. They may be more focused on pitching since midseason acquisitions Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, and David Peterson could all leave this offseason.
While the Cubs could try to bring back Happ, Mooney and Sharma speculated they could replace Happ and Suzuki with Pedro Ramirez and Matt Shaw in their corner outfield slots alongside star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Suzuki enjoyed another strong season at the plate, batting .270/.368/.473 with 26 home runs in 143 games. He has an .823 OPS in five seasons since arriving from Japan.
The right-hander showed more plate discipline with a career-high 12.8% walk rate, but his fielding improvements should particularly boost his market value. Suzuki leaped from -4 Defensive Runs Saved to 14, far above his previous career high of 3 in 2024. Suzuki's 4.6 fWAR ranked 19th among all qualified hitters, making the 32-year-old one of the best available hitters this offseason.
He could exceed the five-year, $85 million contract he signed when first joining the Cubs. His Cubs tenure may have ended after the San Diego Padres swept him out of the Wild Card Series. Suzuki scored Chicago's only run from both games in Wednesday's 4-1 elimination loss at Petco Park.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
